On The Third Day He Rose
by Lovedrr
Summary: The missing scenes which lead Bruce and Selina into their romance… from the kiss to the cafe… Spoilers: The Dark Knight Rises.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended.

Note: The image can be viewed on my tumblr Lovedrr tagged 'pic-fics' post #105885750150.

* * *

**On The Third Day He Rose**

* * *

Grounds of the Thomas And Martha Wayne Home for Children

3:16 a.m.

Three days.

It had been three days since she'd watched him die, watched him give his life to save a city, watched him become the saviour which she somehow knew in her heart that he always had been, and yet she still sees him.

He is there, every time her eyes close to sleep, every time she rests her head, every time her mind has a free moment. He always appears walking out of the shadows, just as he did the day he returned when she had been unsure what had happened to him. The dark knight, rising from the dead.

She always walks over to him, unconsciously reaching a hand out to see if he is real, and he invariably fades away.

Selina knows that her mind and her heart are still holding on to the memory of Bruce Wayne. A man that she had hardly known, and simultaneously felt as if she had known him her entire life.

She is certain of one thing between them: he believed in her. He'd believed in her more than anyone else ever had, including herself. And in the end, she had to let him go.

It was for his reason that she found herself standing here now, staring down at his headstone, trying to find the words to say goodbye. Somehow the words, 'I guess we're both suckers,' just hadn't been what she'd wanted to say to him. Or more importantly, what she'd needed to say. Right now, she needed to find the words necessary to get him out of her system, so that she could move on and leave this city and this whole ordeal behind her.

Selina wasn't sure how long she'd been standing at this small location on these spacious grounds, unnoticed at this quiet hour. All of the children in the manor which now served as an orphanage seemed to be asleep, and the only sounds in the darkness were those of the gently drizzling rain. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, words began to slip from her lips.

"You … You changed things … maybe not forever … but you changed things. Okay, maybe forever. I don't know. All I know … is that you changed me. I … I'm not sure what you saw in me, but … I intend to find it. No matter how hard it is or how long it takes. But I … I can't do it here. I … I have to leave."

"Come with me," a quiet voice called from beside her.

Selina wasn't startled or surprised. She didn't react or jump away in fear. She had thought of virtually nothing else except him since that light in the sky had appeared, so if she were losing her mind, it would make sense to her that this was how it would happen. She turned, slowly, to look to her side.

His shadow was there, just as she'd seen him countless times over the last three days, this time concealed by the darkness of the nearby trees.

With legs shaky and uncertain, she began to walk toward him. As she'd done many times in her mind's eye, she reached a hand up to touch his face, knowing that he would just disappear from in front of her as before.

Then, her fingers touched … flesh.

Selina's eyes widened, her heart began to pound, her breath caught in her throat and her hand began to shake. Of its own volition, her other hand raised to take hold of his other cheek, almost as if to hold him there with her so that he would not disappear again.

"What? How?" was all that she could manage.

"It was time," Bruce spoke to her quietly. "It was time for me to leave. The symbol will live on now."

"How did you know…"

"The people that I cared about let me know that the time had come. They told me that the Batman wasn't needed anymore and that Bruce Wayne's resources could now do more for the city than his body. I've left things in place, things to insure that the city would be taken care of. I found someone."

"Someone?"

"Someone that can do the job. Someone that can be better than me in time. I once thought that maybe Harvey Dent could take my place as Gotham's symbol, but the Joker destroyed that hope, and left us with only lies to keep the city going. This time, the symbol will endure."

"So are you finally ready to leave?"

"Come with me," Bruce implored quietly, his whispered words echoing her own from three days ago.

Selina answered him by stepping forward, wrapping her arms around Bruce's neck, and gently pressing her lips against his own. Unlike their previous two embraces, this one wasn't rushed or hurried. It was slow, gentle, enticing and alluring. They opened their lips, and slipped more deeply, more completely into one another. The gently sprinkling rain picked up at that moment, falling more quickly upon them, yet neither of them even took notice of it. This kiss was a promise … a sealing … a marriage … of their shared future for the rest of their lives.


	2. Chapter 2

Florence, Italy

The Hotel Grand

10:45 p.m.

The Hotel Grand nestled in the suburbs of Florence had once been a marvelous sight to behold. Its expanse had been on the high end scale of society, costly but supposedly well worth the money. The hotel stood in very different repose now.

Instead of the symbol of affluence it once had been, it now stood with its opulence dimmed, mostly a shadow of its former brightness. Although it was no longer in the air of royalty, it still retained its proud posture. All of the staff and travelers still held it in high regard, and it now housed and serviced the common man along with the affluent.

It was precisely for this reason that Mr. Bruce Wayne had chosen it.

As he and Ms. Selina Kyle walked down the hallway to their modest suite, they had been stealing little glances at one another. The feelings they were experiencing were new to both of them, and neither had figured out how they were going to explore them.

"So, why the Williams?" Selina asked.

"Well, I figured any farther from Wayne and you'd probably forget it," Bruce said with a grin.

Selina slowly rolled her eyes at him, the same gesture she'd made when Robin Johnathan Blake had told her that the police force of Gotham could protect her from Bane. The gesture was a habit, but still she found herself unable to hold back a slight smile. Either this man could be really charming, or her feelings were in really deep. God help her if both were true.

Bruce smiled at the roll of her eyes. To him, it was one of the sexiest things he had ever seen in his entire life. This woman truly affected him, and Bruce had to admit to himself that he was finding it difficult to adjust to this. He had grown up with Rachel, and they had been deeply connected, but he had never needed… or wanted… Rachel deep down inside his soul like what he was feeling for Selina. When he had learned that Rachel had been spending her nights with Harvey Dent, he had been able to remain calm and cordial and maintain his composure. With Selina, it was as if every move she made, every sight of her eyes, every sound of her voice only drew him into her even deeper. With Rachel, he could be composed. With Selina, he might lose himself.

"I'm glad you travel light," Bruce said as he used their room key to open their suite. "I figure that we'll be moving around for a while, at least until we're certain that things are calm for us."

"A girl should always travel light," Selina said with a teasing smile. "You never know when you might get trapped inside a city about to get incinerated by a nuclear device."

Bruce smiled at her humor, but his smile quickly faded as he noticed Selina making her way over to the adjacent bedroom instead of the master suite. He waited until she had reached the door before he voiced his concerns.

"I thought we might… settle you into the master bedroom," he said quietly and uncertainly.

"And perhaps you presume a little too much, Mr. Wayne," Selina said coyly, reminding him of his words to her during their dance.

"I… I do apologize, Ms. Kyle," Bruce said quickly. "I didn't mean… "

"Good night, Mr. Wayne," Selina said as she closed the bedroom door behind her.

"Good night, Mrs. Williams," Bruce whispered to himself as he walked into the master bedroom alone.

As Bruce closed the door behind him, he could almost hear the jovial voice of his butler, his friend, and his surrogate father in the air around him, as if he were there with him in spirit.

'_Just you, Master Wayne? Don't worry, Master Wayne. Just takes a while to get back into the swing of things_.'

* * *

One hour later, Selina found herself pacing, actually pacing of all things, all over the soft carpet in front of her vanity dresser. She was covered only in the white bath towel she had donned after her long, relaxing bath, and she now found herself truly more hot and bothered than she had ever been in her entire life.

Her life. That was what this was about. Her life. Selina had never been one to be indecisive, and she didn't like what she was feeling now.

Every part of the old Selina was screaming at her to get out, to cut and run, to not get attached to anything that she couldn't walk away from.

Bruce actually thought that whatever this was between them was going to last. There wasn't a storm coming this time, but in a way the opposite was just as bad and perhaps more hurtful. This was too good to be true. That's why it wasn't going to last. This world just wasn't built to be kind. Selina had learned that lesson the night she had lost her mother, and it was one that she had never been able to forget.

Selina walked toward her bags… and stopped. She had left him once. She had left him for dead in a trap that she'd led him into. Still, he had come back to her, with forgiveness in his eyes and the salvation of her life in his hands. She had tried to leave him a second time, but had found herself unable to do so, instead turning around to find herself fighting beside him in his cause. This third time, she wasn't even going to try. She didn't want to.

Even as mismatched as they were, as much as all the odds were against them making it, maybe, just maybe, they were perfect for one another. Maybe they were created to be together.

Selina had to face the fear in her heart. It was the same kind of fear that a bride felt before walking to the altar to be joined to her husband. She smiled to herself at that thought.

Well, she was never one to stand still for long. Either she was going to move forward, or she was going to move backward. With a final sigh, Selina opened the bedroom door and walked out.

* * *

In the master suite, Bruce lay on his back after a short but refreshing shower. He was nude underneath his sheets, his bath towel laying on a recliner in the corner. His body now hurt in a number of ways more than ever before. The damage done to his body by the monstrous Bane would certainly stay with him for the rest of his natural life. Still, his heart and his mind had a chance of healing, and that chance was now laying in the next bedroom.

Bruce was unsure of how Selina felt about him, but he knew for certain that he needed her in his life.

Bruce had spent what felt like several lifetimes fighting for a cause which he believed in. During that time, he had seen very few people have a true change of heart for the better. To him, Selina was a shining light. She was living breathing proof that his faith had not been in vain. If she could change, then the city could change, then the world could change.

Bruce was shifting to alleviate another slight ache in his lower back when he noticed the movement in the room. He didn't hear the door which he had locked turn or open, but he felt her presence nearby. He had locked it for her amusement and challenge, but she had picked it so quickly that it obviously hadn't provided the enjoyment he had intended. He waited a moment before looking down at the foot of the bed.

Selina stood still at the foot of the bed, staring down at him, her face partially obscured by the sheer white curtains gently hanging from the canopy completely surrounding the massive over king sized bed. Bruce had thought the canopy somewhat gaudy when he'd first laid eyes on it, but now it gave Selina's appearance an almost luminous effect.

As he watched, Selina slowly walked around to the left side of the bed, her eyes never leaving his body laying prone and only partially covered by the sheets around his waist. Bruce kept his eyes on hers, trying to discern what was going through her mind. When Selina turned and began a slow stride around to the right side of the bed, her eyes dropped to gaze at his uncovered torso, and she didn't restrain a lick of her lips at the sight of him. Bruce took the opportunity to let his eyes flow over her lithe well curved and so feminine body, both firm and soft. When their eyes met again, Bruce was very pleased to find that his appreciatively wandering eyes had not offended her, but had actually seemed to have enticed her even more. Selina's eyes were filled with desire for him, and they were overflowing with a deeper emotion which neither one of them were fully ready to believe.

Returning once again to the foot of the bed, Selina paused before she slowly parted the curtains and let the bath towel slip from around her breasts. She didn't miss the slight flash of Bruce's eyes at her figure, and his attention further empowered her, knowing that she could elicit such a reaction from the normally stolid man.

Slowly, and intentionally making a show of it for him, she slid herself onto the bed, taking her time as she crawled toward him on all fours. She moved with the feline grace of her namesake, her body exuding beauty, power and sex appeal. As Selina began to crawl over Bruce's prone body, both of them moved in unison to pull the sheets past his waist to let her slip underneath the covers with him. The mere feel of their bare bodies pressed skin to skin for the first time was an almost intoxicating sensation, and both their hearts began to race in anticipation. Selina gazed down into Bruce's eyes intensely.

They both knew that there was no going back for either of them. What was between them was too strong to be denied. They had fallen for one another deeply.

They kissed, not wanting to force their thoughts any deeper, afraid of the undeniable truth they'd have to face. She melted into him instantly, and he relented, drawing her in until there seemed to be no distinction where one ended and the other began. Their passion for one another completely overflowed from within them…


	3. Chapter 3

**The Hotel Grand**

**10:15 a.m.**

The sun sparkling over the horizon line of the city was a beautifully breathtaking sight at this hour of the morning.

Bruce and Selina sat out on the terrace, watching it quietly as they were both busy with their early morning ventures. Selina was busily partaking of the widely varied complimentary breakfast which two waiters were serving for them out on the balcony, while Bruce had his beyond state of the art tablet in his hand quickly skimming over the breaking morning news reports surrounding Gotham. They stole glances at each other whenever they could, an energy constantly flowing between them which they could barely contain.

As the elder of the two waiters uncovered the last dish, and turned to walk away, Bruce spoke quickly and unconsciously.

"Thank you, Alfred," he called over his shoulder.

His eyes looked up and widened in surprise at his own words, and Selina turned to stare at him.

"Excuse me, sir?" the aged butler said as he turned back toward the table.

"Thank you so much," Selina chimed in quickly to smooth things over. "We appreciate your help. Thank you."

The butler nodded and followed the younger man on their way out of the suite. Bruce didn't say anything, simply turning to look back down at his tablet with his brow furrowed in thought. Selina stared at him, waiting for him to offer some reaction to the incident. When he didn't respond after several long moments, Selina casually returned to devouring her breakfast before she began their conversation.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked.

"No, not really," Bruce answered, not looking up from the news.

"You miss him, don't you?" she followed, undeterred by his attempt to remain withdrawn. When he didn't respond, she continued. "I know he misses you, too. From what I know of him, I know that you were very special to him. Why did he leave?"

"He wanted me to have a different end to my life," Bruce finally relented to her, laying his tablet down and looking up at her. "He wanted me to have… this life that we're living, actually," he spoke quietly, as if truly realizing it to himself for the first time.

"Are you hungry?" Selina asked, breaking the tension and letting him off the hook.

She was careful with this man. He had been guarded and alone for so long, that she felt that his opening up to her was truly a gift. She intended to nurture it well. He had revealed enough of his feelings for now.

"A little," Bruce grinned, sitting up with a long look at the sunrise before reaching for the various breakfast trays on the table in front of them. "You seem pretty famished," he said with a genuine smile, allowing himself a long stare at the beauty before him.

"You better be hungry, Mr. Wayne," Selina said comically with food in her mouth. Then, a moment later, in the blink of an eye, she had swallowed her bite and her entire demeanor became sultry and seductive, oozing sensuality. "I'm not at all through with you, so you're going to need all your strength later on."

"You sound like you're looking forward to it," Bruce said a grin.

"I'm adaptable," Selina whispered to him once again.

"Our lives are different now, Selina," Bruce said somewhat sternly. "Let's see how you adapt to being Mrs. Williams."

"Or Mrs. Wayne," Selina said with a roll of her eyes.

Selina's breath immediately caught in her throat, her body completely shocked by the words which had slipped out of her mouth. Selina could often be smooth as silk in her dealings, but sometimes she could really slip up and put her foot in her mouth. Like now. Yet, never so much had she messed up before than she had at this moment. Oh yes, this was the queen pinnacle of her verbal mistakes. Her head dropped and she stared down at her plate, completely unwilling to meet his eyes and desperately hoping that he hadn't heard those words.

Until the day she died, Selina knew that she would never forget Bruce's reaction to her words. After staring at Selina for a long, silent, breathless moment, Bruce carefully reached into the pocket of his robe. He slowly placed a jewelry box on the table and slid it over next to her.

"Well, we should make sure you look the part," Bruce whispered so quietly that Selina wasn't sure she'd heard the words.

As Selina looked up and realized what was on the table in front of her, her eyes grew wide in surprise and her blood began to race through her veins. Her heart was suddenly pounding in her chest, she found that she couldn't breathe, and there was a slight shaking in her hands.

"It… It's not what you think," Bruce said, completely misreading what he had taken as an adverse reaction from her.

Selina's heart broke and she suddenly found herself having to fight back tears which wanted to well in her eyes. She opened her mouth. She needed desperately to tell Bruce the truth. She needed to tell him that she hadn't been taken aback at all by what she'd thought he had been saying to her. The truth of the matter was that she had been shocked… by her self realization that she would have said 'yes.'

Selina picked up the box and held it in her hands tenderly.

"It's not what you think," Bruce repeated. "It's something more."

Selina's eyes brightened as she looked up at him in surprise, and this time she didn't hesitate as she quickly opened the box. This time, she didn't want to give him any cause to doubt her feelings for him. When the box opened, Selina's universe came to a pause. Her pounding heart skipped a beat and she felt as if it stopped. Her hands visibly trembled, and it seemed as if she felt herself break out into a cold sweat all over.

The pearls. His mother's pearls. His words now resonated deep within her soul. 'Look the part.' Of Martha Wayne. Mrs. Wayne. Selina Kyle Wayne. The new Mrs. Wayne.

Selina managed to lift the pearls out of their resting place, only because she had worn them before and was familiar with them, giving her trembling hands the wherewithal to touch such a precious gift.

"Will you?" Selina managed to inquire of him, her broken voice barely above a whisper.

Bruce was surprised and shocked at Selina's request, and touched by the deep emotion he saw evident in her eyes. He stood to his feet and walked around the table to stand behind her, being careful as he moved without his leg brace. Selina waited patiently for him. As Bruce lifted the pearls from her hands, Selina kept her hands along his wrists as he fastened them around her neck.

"Thank you," she said in a heartfelt whisper as she pulled him down to her.

Selina leaned upward and kissed Bruce, and when he tried to lean back from what he thought would be a chaste kiss, she pulled him downward and kissed him more deeply. Their romantic kiss continued with the rising sun behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

As Bruce and Selina walked to the café, their route was scenic and beautiful. The sun shining brightly over the lovely blue sky above them illuminated the gorgeous countryside surrounding them. The moment seemed almost surreal after the horrors of Bane's occupation of Gotham.

Bruce walked slowly and carefully, not using his leg brace. He took special note of the fact that Selina made certain to always walk on his right, never letting go of his arm as they walked in gentleman and madame fashion, herself acting as his brace for him. This simple gesture was incredibly endearing to him, and Selina was very pleased to use the excuse to keep her arms wrapped around his right arm, keeping them connected.

Soon, they were choosing a table in a small quaint café, alight with a small crowd, a bright shining sun and the brisk air of a small river not too far away blowing a gentle breeze across the atmosphere.

Bruce looked around and smiled to himself. It was a perfect moment. He had checked the records of the cafes in the area and tracked Alfred's credit card to this location, consistently arriving at very near this exact time. Bruce sat in a position so that he could face the café entrance, waiting for the particular arrival.

Just moments after they'd sat down, a certain grey haired gentleman entered the café and chose a table seat facing Bruce. Bruce watched him, trying to figure out how to handle the wealth of emotions which coursed through his heart for this man. Bruce had come to understand the truth of Alfred's words to him, how much he missed this man without realizing it at the time he'd let him leave the manor without another word, and how much this man that had raised him must have loved him to have so strongly wanted him to have a better life.

Bruce wondered a moment at the providence of God, to have arranged circumstances so that Mr. Alfred Pennyworth had not had to endure the occupation of Gotham. He would certainly not have survived. The Lord had protected him.

At that moment, Alfred's head turned, and he caught sight of Bruce and Selina seated at the café table. At that moment, Bruce knew that everything was all right between them. At that moment, he truly knew, maybe truthfully for the first time in his life, how much they loved each other.

Alfred had been right. There were no words needed between the two of them. For both of them, the truth was known in that moment.

Alfred couldn't restrain an enthusiastic nod in his overwhelming elation, and Bruce couldn't hide the gentle smile of joy from within his soul.

Then, just as Bruce thought that the moment couldn't be more perfect, a waiter walked over to their table and Selina turned to look up at him as she politely listened to the day's specials with a smile.

Bruce had wanted Alfred to know that Selina Kyle was the woman… the wife… by his side that Alfred had dreamed of. Bruce wondered at Alfred's wisdom. Perhaps he had known from the beginning how taken Bruce had been with her. How the few seconds they had shared when they had met had prompted him to immediately go back into the cave, something he had not done for a very long time. How he had stalked her after meeting her, of course with the intention of retrieving his mother's pearls, but also so that he could partake of her beauty and vibrance once again. Maybe Alfred had guessed the truth of the matter. And now, he knew for certain.

Still, unsure of their enemies and remaining watchful of stragglers from the League of Shadows possibly after them, Bruce lowered his head back down to the menu.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Alfred hastily leave the café. Bruce knew that he had succeeded at that moment. It had been so perfect that Alfred hadn't wanted to take any chance of anything ruining the moment he had dreamed of for half his life.

Selina charmed the waiter before dismissing him to return to take their order in a few minutes.

"Was he happy to see you?" Selina asked without looking up from her menu.

"He'd told me that this was kind of a dream for him. I'm glad we were able to make it come true."

"We?"

"He hadn't wanted me to be alone. I noticed that you turned your head. You wanted him to know that it was you with me."

"Maybe I did," Selina said with her customary eye roll. "Maybe it's nice to win for a change."

"I'm glad. I wanted him to know that it was you, too."

"Why?" Selina said as she looked up at him from the menu, no longer feigning disinterest.

"I'm very proud to have you by my side, Ms. Kyle," Bruce told her with a kind smile.

Selina quickly dropped her head back down to the menu in her lap, not wanting him to see the sudden tears which had welled in her eyes. No man had ever said those words to her. No man had ever touched her heart like this man. Selina slowly began to accept the fact that this man was it… and the end… for her.

"Well, that's Mrs. Williams, I'll have you know," she managed charmingly.

"Or Mrs. Wayne?" Bruce asked, his face now bereft of all pretenses of humor.

Selina gazed back up into his eyes without moving, the answer lying unspoken between them, yet already known.

"Are you going to see him?" asked Selina, a gentle and warming smile accompanying her change of subject. "I know you don't want him to spend the rest of his life alone, either."

"He will never be alone. I'll be there for him at the end, just as he was there for me at the beginning."

"And I just happen to know a doctor named Leslie Thompkins that would be just perfect for him. I'll see to it that their paths cross."

"That would be good."

"We'll need resources. I was wondering how you plan on funding our little journey around the world here," Selina said carefully. "You've never been broke, but I've been broke for most of my life. You know, we could do things my way," she lowered her voice to a sexy and enticing tone. "Take a little from those that have too much. We'd be excellent partners."

"No," Bruce said with a firmness which left no room for discussion. "That life is behind you now, Selina. Besides," he added without the edge in his voice. "I think we'll be allright for a little while."

"How?"

"Well, let's just say that Mr. Williams has a little revenue set aside in various accounts for the protection of Mr. Pennyworth and any others he had come to care for so that they could be protected and disappear if need be. But, the money won't last forever."

"I've been thinking of going into the security business as a consultant."

"Security?"

"Yes, indeed. With my expertise. I think I could run a successful business with the start up capital."

"That's actually an excellent career for you," Bruce said with a thoughtful grin. "Certainly ironic, but it fits you somehow."

"Come clean with me," Selina implored. "I know you've already got a plan in place. I've been watching what you've been studying on the net. Do you want to tell me about Wright Industries? I'm certain that it's somehow connected to your parents."

"Right you are," Bruce conceded. "Wright Industries was owned by Mr. Wilson Wright. He went to college with my father. He was smart, but he lacked my father's technical skills and knowledge in medicine."

"So he went into business instead?"

"Yes, and he was quite successful. Lucius once told me that when Wayne Enterprises was expanding, Mr. Wright not only provided my father with some excellent business consultation, but he also helped him form business connections."

"Connections?" Selina followed as the light suddenly donned on her. "That's where I've seen that name recently. "Wright Industries is one of the… "

"… main companies which is funding some of the few relief efforts to Gotham City right now after the occupation."

"It's all about that city with you, isn't it?" said Selina, shaking her head in pity. "I could compete with another woman, but I don't know if I can compete against a city."

"Well," Bruce said, leaning forward. "As a woman, you should be impressed with my tendency to be devoted to the things I care for."

"There's something you're not telling me," Selina realized after staring into his eyes for a long moment and trying not to get lost in them.

"The company is being run by Mr. Wright's son, Damien Wright. I've taken a look at their books behind the scenes and because the company has been struggling financially, he's made the mistake of the getting them in deep with the organized crime lords along the coast. This company is the primary source of revenue for the city right now, and if the crime lords take control of it… "

"… then, they'll control the city as well," she finished for him. "So what's your plan?"

"Well, first I'm going to use a business portfolio that Lucius and I created a few years ago to get myself affiliated with the board of the company as a consultant. Then, I'm going to steer their direction a little bit. I've taken a good look at the market in the city and the surrounding areas, and I know where they need to go."

"And the crime lords?" she asked heavily.

"I know where they need to go, too," he said cryptically.

"So you're going to train others?"

"Yes. The Batmen will be symbols of hope to cities all over the world."

"You can't start this alone."

"I was… thinking that I might have a partner," Bruce implored, leaning forward once again. "What do you say?"

"Sounds like fun," Selina said with a sly smile. "You know the people are going to come up with some funny name for us, don't you?"

"You think?"

"Oh, yeah. Something like… The Dynamic Duo… or something. It will never stick."

"I don't know. It kind of has a nice ring to it. The Dynamic Duo… "

It was the beginning of an entirely new destiny for the two of them…

The Beginning…


End file.
